Npc 80

"No... is it a wedding?" Cao Youfeng asked with confusion.

"Funeral and wedding!" Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu laughed in unison.

Under the dense green shade of the mountain, the two pairs of delicate eyes, one blue and one green, smiled, curving into the same eerie shape, making onlookers shiver.

[Suddenly wondering, Jiang Yan and this system NPC seem to have a strange couple-like vibe?]

[Can NPCs even have a couple's vibe? Real couple vibes?]

[Ah?]

[First, let me correct that—it's a husband!]

[Has the internet cut off upstairs? Isn't it already public knowledge that this system NPC is Jiang Yan's ex-husband?]

"Please, everyone!"

After speaking, Yu Xiu took Jiang Yan's hand and started walking down the mountain.

The others: "..."

Jian Hou looked at them with a helpless expression. "Even in a terrifying game, you two are still playing it this way? How did I end up knowing these two?"

"Let's go!" Tao Shi said, patting Jian Hou's shoulder, smiling as he spoke. "This should be the third time Mr. Jian has attended their wedding, right?"

With that, he walked down the mountain, his hand on Jian Hou's shoulder.

Yu Jia looked down at the town below. "It seems that this wedding will be even more spectacular than the last one!"

"Wait! What’s happening? Has no one tried to figure out the logic behind this?" Cao Youfeng asked, looking perplexed, before following the others.

Ding Wanyu looked at Cang Rou, who was holding one child and carrying another in her arms, her white dress looking radiant.

He raised his brow, wanting to know whether Cang Rou's actions of taking Jiang Yan earlier were due to being controlled by Yu Jia’s or if it was part of Jiang Yan's plan.

What had happened when Jiang Yan almost got contaminated?

What exactly occurred during the private confrontation between Jiang Yan and her?

In this instance, real NPCs, like Jiang Yan, indirectly participate in the storyline. Their role is to assist players and the system—essentially, they help create a better "game experience" by playing characters. They are individuals between the players and the main system, which means they don’t usually have scenes where only two real NPCs interact without players involved. If they do, the players must know the content of these interactions, or else the scene would be considered "useless."

The behavior of real NPCs avoiding players in a private scene, without revealing the content to the players, is clearly against the rules.

According to the game rules for handling violations by real NPCs, they are either torn apart by the system NPCs and used as food for the system, or they are corrupted by the system and become NPCs, remaining stuck in the instance forever.

Could this be the reason Jiang Yan almost got corrupted earlier?

But, it was clearly Cang Rou who took Jiang Yan away, not Jiang Yan who violated the rules.

The more Ding Wanyu thought about it, the more he furrowed his brow.

He watched Jiang Yan’s figure in the distance, holding hands with his husband. His gaze lingered on his soft, obedient long hair, lightly blowing in the wind. He felt a mix of emotions stirring inside him.

This person had completely challenged his understanding of real NPCs.

Jiang Yan...

He looked obedient and beautiful, seemingly always under the protection and favoritism of the main system. Yet, he had somehow become the one in control of this entire instance!

He didn't seem like a person playing the role of an NPC; he seemed more like a player playing the role of an NPC.

Ding Wanyu let out a faint smile and caught up with a few players.

Cang Rou looked at him with some confusion.

He wasn’t asking questions?

She had already prepared an answer that wouldn’t break her character, yet this person didn’t ask? Wasn’t he curious? Wasn’t he curious about Jiang Yan’s confrontation with her?

Cang Rou bit her lip.

Damn it! But she really wanted to say it!!

As the faint screams gradually faded away, everyone walked down the winding mountain path toward the town, which had turned into a scene of bloodshed and destruction, the streets now soaked in red.

At the edge of the town, the towering locust tree still blocked the road, while another had fallen nearby, cutting off a small stream outside the town. The once lively stream had now turned into a river of blood.

At this moment, the blood that had spread across the cobblestone streets had been mostly drained. Small, underdeveloped, red-skinned infant girls lay on the street like stranded fish, struggling to stand, their bodies too soft, their bones almost nonexistent. Their skin was translucent and jelly-like, veins visible beneath, as they tried and failed to stand again and again.

Around them, the bodies of the fallen ghosts were scattered.

Most were too broken to move, though a few were still trying to rise.

Every time the red-skinned girls fell, they would crawl over to the nearest fallen ghost and bite into its flesh.

Though their bones were soft and their skin transparent, they had sharp teeth.

With each bite, they tore off chunks of flesh, and with each piece they consumed, they grew a little stronger.

Jiang Yan saw the town mayor lying by the side of the road.

Half of his body had been eaten away. His lower half was missing a leg, shredded and mangled, and the other leg barely clung to his torso by a sliver of skin, keeping it from fully severing.

A few red-skinned girls were gnawing on his body, tearing at his flesh bit by bit.

His body would tremble every time their sharp teeth sank into him. He wasn't dead yet—he could only watch helplessly as he was consumed.

Seeing this, Jiang Yan politely approached and greeted him: "Father! How are you!"

Yu Xiu, very obediently, followed Jiang Yan’s lead and said: "Father! How are you!"

When the mayor saw his son and daughter-in-law, who had disappeared earlier, suddenly appear before him, a glimmer of light appeared in his despondent, clouded eyes.

But then, he remembered who had caused him to end up like this, and his gaze turned to them with hatred. His face, like old tree bark, twisted as he struggled, letting out a faint, guttural sound.

"What does Father want to say?" Jiang Yan asked sweetly.

The mayor opened his mouth wide, struggling to rise.

It was them!

It was them who had ruined him, made him this way!

It was they who had destroyed the town! Destroyed the Yu family!

Damn it!

They should all die!

He wanted to tear them apart with his own hands!

If he had another chance, he would expel Jiang Yan's family from the town, erase them from the town's records, and dig up their family’s ancestral graves so they would never return!

It was all their fault... They destroyed the town!

At this point, his body, half turned to rotten flesh, squirmed like a giant, wriggling worm.

His mouth opened wide, revealing a blackened half of his tongue.

"Ah! Has you lost your tongue?" Jiang Yan said with a laugh.

"Father, you still look better like this," Yu Xiu commented.

A red-skinned girl grabbed hold of the mayor's remaining leg, pulling it gently, and the last bit of skin and flesh holding it in place was torn off.

The entire leg fell away.

The mayor let out a low growl, his body going limp as he collapsed to the ground, ceasing to struggle.

It seemed... he was about to die... truly die.

As he realized this, fear never before seen appeared in his eyes.

He let out a rapid "hissing" sound, reaching out toward the two in front of him.

Save him...

But the next moment, his outstretched arm was torn off!

"Ahh!"

A scream came from his throat, and fresh blood splattered onto Yu Xiu’s face, which was as white as porcelain. He looked at the shriveled, twig-like arm in his hand and turned to Jiang Yan: "Can I take this home? Bring it to our house?"

Jiang Yan: "..."

This guy, no matter where he goes, is always looking to collect things like this?!

But, at least he was just a system NPC.

Jiang Yan sighed helplessly: "If you like it."

"Great!" Yu Xiu smiled.

Then, he turned to the mayor, who was half-dead on the ground, and gave a smile brighter than the sun, his green eyes shining with brilliance: "Thanks, Dad! I really like this gift."

The mayor, half-dead on the ground: "..."

Jiang Yan: "..."

The others: "..."

Jian Hou silently gave Yu Xiu a thumbs up: "...As expected of you!"

Hearing this, Tao Shi curiously asked: "Is he like this in the real world?"

According to the information gathered by their Dawn Guild, Jiang Yan's ex-husband had some rather unique preferences.

But he thought the information might be exaggerated.

After all, most people have their own dark sides, and many people have unusual tastes. Just like how people enjoy specific genres of movies or novels in daily life.

There were quite a few who liked collecting medical organ models, and many found these things quite fascinating.

So, when he first read the information about Jiang Yan's ex-husband’s preferences, his first reaction was that the data might have been embellished.

Tao Shi looked at Yu Xiu, holding the severed arm, a satisfied smile on his face, and turned to Jiang Yan.

Yu Xiu met their gaze and smiled at them: "Let’s go! The wedding venue is at the edge of the town!"

At that moment, two small, blood-stained paper figurines hopped over to them, leading the way.

They followed the direction the little paper figures pointed toward and saw several "Red Ghost" beckoning them. Each of them held a child in their arms, similar to Cang Rou, but unlike her, these children were small, looking more like little mice with their skin peeled off.

Rather than holding them, they were cradling them in their hands.

They seemed peaceful, and one could even feel the joy the festive funeral—or perhaps the morbid wedding—brought to them.

Following the instructions of the little paper figurines, everyone walked toward the "Red Ghost Ladies."

While walking, Jian Hou stroked his chin and replied: "Actually, Xiao Xiu just has some special hobbies, but in the real world, he doesn’t harm others, and he often does kind things. However... his kindness is not always well received."

"Kindness that's not well received?" Tao Shi was somewhat puzzled.

"Like what?" Cao Youfeng leaned in and asked from Tao Shi's side.

"Well..."

Jian Hou thought for a moment and answered: "For example, he really likes to collect the bodies of those who died in the wilderness, and he helps those nameless bodies find their families."

"Isn't this a good thing? Why would it be disliked? Is it because people think he brings bad luck?" Cao Youfeng asked, puzzled.

He was about to defend Yu Xiu!

How could such a kind-hearted young man, someone who didn’t fear others' opinions and helped people, be looked down upon?

This was too much!

However, the next moment, Jian Hou added:

"Yes! If it were just that, his kindness would definitely be well received, but... "

"But what?" Cao Youfeng asked.

"But, after helping the nameless bodies find their families, the relatives of the deceased would often cry and express their thanks. They would usually offer him tangible rewards and compensation, and then..."

"He would directly ask the family members if they could give him the bodies as a gift."

Cao Youfeng: "..."

Tao Shi: "....How the hell he actually didn’t get killed?"

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